From the Inside Looking Out
by ComicBookFreak
Summary: Jesse receives some life altering news concerning his health. Takes places five years after series finale.


**_From the Inside Looking Out  
_By:** ComicBookFreak

**Summary:** Jesse receives some life-altering news concerning his health. Takes places five years after series finale.

**Timeframe:** 2000

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Full House_ or any of its original characters.

**Chapter 1**- "The Calm Before the Storm"

"Nick, over here!" Jesse called to his eight-year-old son, who had just intercepted the nerf football that his twin brother had thrown toward their mother.

"Back on defense, honey!" Becky called to Alex.

It was a crisp Saturday morning in early December. The San Francisco sky was a typical late autumn shade of blue-gray. A brisk yet gentle breeze, carried over from the bay, circulated throughout the small park. The four members of the Katsopolis family had gathered at the field by the twins' elementary school to condition them for the upcoming flag football season. It was Jesse and Nicky against Becky and Alex.

Nicky hurled the ball in an exceptional spiral pass to his father. Jesse managed to catch it without letting it slip from his hands. Just as Jesse swiftly crossed over the "end zone," which was marked by two perfectly distanced trees, he felt his sweatshirt being tugged at. Due to his lack of athletic coordination and balance, he immediately went down, landing on his back. Alex's grinning face appeared above his.

"Got ya, Dad," he said, beaming proudly.

Jesse smirked at his son and pulled himself into a sitting position. He suddenly felt strangely short of breath. Caught off guard, he tried not to show it.

Becky ran toward the two of them and bent down so she was squatting. "You all right there, Montana?" she asked her husband.

Jesse managed to suck in some air and eyed her strangely. "Uh, Beck, we live in California."

Becky shook her head, an amused smile playing on her lips. Clearly he didn't understand that she was referring to the legendary football star. She turned and put her hands on her son's shoulders. "Alex, sweetie, listen carefully. The idea isn't to tag or sack down your opponent _after_ they've already scored a touchdown. The idea is to catch them _before_ they make a touchdown so they _don't_ score. Do you understand?"

Alex shook his head. "This is complicated."

"I knew that," Nicky declared. "I'll bet Dad even knew that."

Jesse pushed himself to his feet and ruffled his son's hair, knowing there was no use making a comeback. He hardly knew the difference between a baseball bat and a hockey stick as it was.

"Good point, Nicky. Remember that your father's not exactly up to scratch when it comes to spectator sports, so be careful with him," Becky reminded Alex.

"Okay, we've established that I'm a disgracefully bad athlete many times," Jesse said in an annoyed tone. "Do those times always have to be when I'm around our children?"

Becky chuckled and pulled on his hood playfully. "Sorry, honey. Okay, let's play some football the way the experts intended."

Becky and the boys charged back toward the imaginary center line. Jesse hung back for a minute. The shortness of breath sensation was still bothering him. He had never experienced the feeling so intensely before. He forced himself to shrug it off and followed his family.

* * *

"We're Joey and Jesse, your Rush Hour Renegades, and we'll be right back after a little rock n' roll."

Joey pressed the button that turned on the music, and the opening melody of "Hurt So Good" by John Cougar Mellencamp blasted throughout the small room. Joey turned the volume almost all the way down and turned to face his partner, who was resting his head in his arms on the desk in front of him.

"Hey." Joey waved his hand in front of his friend's face. "You all right there?"

Jesse sighed and lifted his head. It had been a couple days since the football scrimmage in the park. Jesse hadn't been feeling great ever since.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Jesse mumbled, rubbing his temples.

Joey raised one eyebrow and glanced at the thermostat on the wall by the door. "Jess, it's only seventy degrees." He turned back to look at Jesse and saw that he really was sweating profusely. Joey watched him roll up his sleeves. His eyes widened. "Where did you get those wicked bruises?"

Jesse glanced down to find two large black and blue splotches on each forearm. He sighed again and pulled his sleeves back up, even though the room felt like an oven to him. "I don't know," he answered irritably. "Why do you care?"

"Hey, you've been in a bad mood all day," Joey declared. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jesse replied with a wave of his hand. "I'm just tired. Sorry I snapped at you."

"It's okay. Do you want to go home? I can take over for the last fifteen minutes."

"Nah, you know how Axelrod would feel about that," Jesse said, referring to their strict manager. "I can stick it out."

"All right," Joey said cautiously. He continued to stare at the hideous marks on his friend's arms, wondering.

Jesse noticed. "Joey, they're nothing. I probably got them playing football with Beck and the boys a few days ago. Alex managed to sack me down nice and hard."

"Huh," Joey said. "No 'sweet spots' in your game?"

Jesse glared at him with a look of death. Although Joey was concerned, he didn't want to awaken the beast that was Jesse's temper any further, so he kept quiet. They played a couple more songs, neither of them speaking throughout. Normally, the two of them were fighting one another for the mic and bouncing off the walls with energy. For the past few days, however, Jesse had tolerated Joey doing most of the talking.

Once it was time, Joey said, "Okay, we're back in three, two, one . . ."

* * *

Jesse and Joey walked through the backyard and to the door that led to the kitchen. Neither of them had said a word the entire ride home while Joey had driven and Jesse had been half-asleep. Jesse was still in a stupor of exhaustion when they got out and didn't notice himself heading straight for the oak tree beside the house. Joey reflexively grabbed his shoulders and steered him out of his destructive path.

Startled, Jesse jerked away from Joey, obviously more angry than grateful. "Jesus, let go!"

Joey's hands flew up. "Excuse me for saving you from a very rude, not to mention painful awakening."

"Whatever," Jesse said crossly. He then rubbed his eyes and sighed. "I'm way too beat to care about your excuses."

He opened the door and shoved it back so it would slam in Joey's face. He knew he was acting immature, but, like he had clearly stated, he didn't care. Joey stopped the door with his foot and kicked it back open. Just as he walked in, his wife Wendy sauntered through the kitchen's door with a carrier containing a three-month-old infant in each hand. Following her was Michelle, Nicky, and Alex.

"Hey, guys," Wendy greeted them, setting the baskets on the table. "I picked the kids up from school and then took them to the mall for some pizza, since Becky, Danny, and Vicky are all working late. We brought some extra food home for you." She gestured to her niece, who set a couple of Styrofoam containers on the counter.

"Ooh, what is it?" Joey asked excitedly.

"Pizza, Captain Obvious," Michelle replied in an amused tone. "Well, I'm off to go do homework." With her book bag slung over one shoulder, she turned around and exited the kitchen.

"Hey, sweetie." Wendy walked over to Joey and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing him.

"Hey, beautiful." He smiled down at her. "How are my Bam-Bam and Pebbles?" he asked in his Barney Rubble voice, stroking his son and daughter on their heads.

Wendy was Danny's younger sister. She and Joey had first started dating after Nicky and Alex were born. They had broken up a couple months after going out when Wendy's job at the local zoo had consumed most of her time.

Just four years ago, Wendy's beloved pet chimpanzee, Ginger, had died of a liver disease. Joey had helped her get through the pain resulting from the loss and it didn't take long for Wendy to realize that she needed to enjoy life more and not let work dominate her life. Now, they had been happily married for three and a half years and had two healthy children, Nathan Joseph and Adrienne Pamela.

"Hey boys, how was your day?" Jesse asked his sons in a tired voice. It was clear that he was way too drained to be genuinely interested.

"Good," Alex replied.

"We have a spelling test tomorrow. Can you quiz us?" Nicky asked

"Uh . . ." Jesse couldn't think of anything he felt like doing less at the moment. "Did you just find out about this test today?"

"No, we've been studying for it all week," Alex answered.

"In that case, take a day off," Jesse said with false enthusiasm.

"But Dad, it's tomorrow," Nicky said.

"I've always found that cramming five minutes before class makes you forget less," Jesse advised, patting his son's head. "I'm going upstairs for awhile if anyone needs me."

"Are you okay?" Wendy asked him, concerned. "You look pale."

"No, I don't feel too great." He started upstairs. "Thanks for picking up the kids, Wendy. Normally, Steph's supposed to."

Being an active, social senior in high school, Stephanie hardly ever made an appearance at the house before dinner anymore. On a typical day, she would drop Michelle, Nicky, and Alex off at the house and then go on rather long-lasting dinner and supposedly study dates with her boyfriend, Jed Matthews. Danny worried that all the time she was spending with Jed accounted for her grades sliding and failure to have even looked at many college applications. She was quite different from her diligent older sister, who was currently studying hard at Berkeley to become a doctor

"Oh, no problem, Jess. I did have the day. . ." Jesse disappeared out of sight, not sticking around to hear the end of Wendy's sentence, ". . . off." Today was Wendy's last day of maternity leave. She would return to her job at the zoo the following day. She looked at Joey, who shrugged.

* * *

Jesse arrived upstairs in the attic and closed the door, exhausted from the simple task of climbing both flights of steps. He knew the day wasn't over and he still had a few responsibilities to tend to, but he simply couldn't stay on his feet any longer. He needed to lie down, even if it was for a short amount of time. Before ambling over to his and Becky's double bed, which looked extremely appealing, he made his way into the bathroom and surveyed himself in the horizontal mirror.

Except for some peculiar tiny red dots and black and blue bruises, his profile was entirely pale. He crossed his arms over his stomach and removed his long-sleeved T-shirt from his upper body. He was surprised to find another series of dots and bruises flecking his torso. Curious to see how easily he had been bruising, Jesse jabbed himself on his upper arm, in an unaffected area. His eyes widened when a purplish red splotch instantly appeared.

What the hell was wrong with him?

He jumped at a sudden knock on the door and he was startled to find that the noise gave him a headache. "What?" he yelled.

"I was just wondering if I should keep the boys out while you rest." It was Joey.

"Yeah, that'd be good, Joseph."

"Okay then."

"Thanks." Jesse was grateful that Joey hadn't rebuffed him after how he had been treating him.

Suddenly cold, Jesse walked out of the bathroom and toward his chest of drawers. Shivering, he pulled out a gray 49ers sweatshirt that Danny had given him because it was too small for him.

He had only worn it one other time, so the fresh cotton on the inside felt soft. He also put on a pair of sweatpants and clean socks. He then pulled back the sheet and comforter on his bed. He climbed in and immediately began to relish the comfort as he fell into the arms of a deep, seemingly drugged sleep.

Whatever was wrong with him would have to wait.

* * *

"Alex, give me the remote!" Nicky moaned, trying to swipe the control from his brother. "I wanna watch VH1."

"No way! I'm watching SpongeBob." Alex held it out of reach.

"You freak! Give it to me!"

"Come on, boys, don't fight," Wendy said in a tired voice, using one hand to restrain Nicky while her free arm held Nathan.

Joey sat in one of the armchairs, feeding Adrienne. "Why on Earth do you want to watch VH1, Nicky?" he asked.

"There's this special on called 'The Forty Most Shocking Hair Moments.' Dad told me that it's essential to learn from other people's grievous mistakes." Nicky sounded like he was quoting his father. "He said he'd watch it with me, but it gives him nightmares." Joey found it strange that Nicky was interested in both his hair and sports.

"Who's the freak now?" Alex muttered under his breath.

"Look guys, your father's not feeling well and your mother's working late, so she won't want to deal with your backbiting when she gets home," Joey said. "Do you think you can get it together for at least the rest of the night?" Both boys had folded their arms and were glaring at each other. "Well, you haven't clashed for about fifteen seconds. That's progress." Joey paused again. "Hey, why don't we pop in a _Rocky and Bullwinkle_ tape? I know you both love that," he added in his favorite moose's voice.

They both actually agreed to that. Joey carefully handed his daughter to Wendy and got up to search for the right videotape, which he inserted into the VCR. The six of them remained in front of the television for the next hour. At that point, Wendy took the twins upstairs for their nap. As they were finishing the third episode, Becky breezed in.

"Hello, couch potatoes," she said cheerfully, setting her briefcase down and settling down on the couch.

"Where are Danny and Vicky?" Joey asked, not taking his eyes off the TV set.

"Oh, they went out to dinner. Hey Joey, I got an idea on the way home. We should throw a surprise anniversary party for them, and it can be in conjunction with New Years Eve. What do you think?"

Danny and Vicky had tied the knot on New Years Eve the previous year. This time, they had wanted to be sure they were making the right decision.

"Mom, Nicky called me a girl today in front of all my friends!" Alex whined.

"You mean your _girlfriend_, Anna Hartman!" Nicky taunted.

Becky looked at her sons. "Glad you like the idea, boys." She glanced at Nicky. "That wasn't very nice, Nicholas."

"Well, Alex made fun of my hair!"

Becky turned to Alex. "That wasn't very nice either, Alexander. Why are you two always at each other these days? You used to be best friends. I mean, when you were toddlers, we couldn't even get you to play with other kids." Nicky and Alex stared at one another in horror.

Joey got an idea. "Hey Beck, why don't I take the boys to Wendy's? I can help them settle their differences over French fries and Frosties. My treat." Joey took his wallet out of his pocket and flashed it to make his point.

Becky sighed in gratitude. "You know Joey, that would help a lot. Thank you." Her tone became stern as she turned to the twins. "We're going to study for those spelling tests the second you get home." Nicky and Alex nodded.

"Why don't you go wait for me in my van?" Joey suggested. "I wanna talk to your mom for a minute."

Once the twins were gone, Becky gave Joey a questioning look. "What's up, Joey?"

"It's about Jesse."

"Where is Jess anyway? I wanna pitch my anniversary-slash-New Years party idea to him."

"He's, uh, upstairs resting."

"Resting? Is he okay?"

"He would tell you he is, but I think something's wrong with him, Becky. He's been zoned out all week."

Becky looked only a little surprised. "Yeah, I've noticed that he hasn't eaten much lately either. Did you see that he didn't even _touch_ my eggplant parmesan the other night? I mean, what is up with that?" Becky shrugged her shoulders, as if genuinely puzzled.

Joey began laughing loudly. He stopped short when he became aware of Becky glaring at him angrily. "Oh, you're serious." Her expression intensified. "Sorry, Beck, but I can't say any of us were eager to wolf it down."

"Yeah, yeah." Becky rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I'll go to go check on him."

"I would think it's the flu, but he has these bruises."

"I didn't know that," Becky said, raising an eyebrow in concern. "I'll see you later, Joey. Can you try to have the boys home by seven-thirty?"

Joey nodded and waved. He then walked out the door as Becky turned to navigate both flights of stairs to the attic.

* * *

Becky carefully opened the door and peeked in. Jesse was lying in their bed with his back to her. She cautiously tiptoed over to his side and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Jess?" she whispered, rubbing his shoulder. "Honey, are you awake?"

His even breathing was her only response. As delicately as she could, Becky lifted one of his arms and pulled back the sleeve of his sweatshirt. Her eyes enlarged as she beheld two angry-looking contusions on his forearm. She lightly brushed one of the marks with her finger and then gently rolled the sleeve back down.

Becky studied his face thoughtfully. Her expression instantly turned to a frown when she noticed how pale his skin was, with several red dots underneath, almost like cuts bleeding inside. She lifted a hand to touch his forehead with the backs of her fingers and was startled to find his skin clammy. She let her fingers slide down his cheek and to his jaw. Another discovery presented itself when she felt a large lump right under his chin.

Now she was really concerned. Without another thought, Becky turned away from him and reached for the phone on their nightstand.

* * *

Jesse opened his eyes and tried to blink away the pain that was splitting his head. Becky's pretty face appeared in front of him. In her hand, she held a plate containing two pieces of buttered toast.

"Good morning," Becky said with a smile, touching his hair.

"Mornin'." Jesse sighed. He didn't feel like much of a morning person at the moment.

"Here, why don't you take one of these?" Becky set down the dish and picked up an Advil tablet and mug of coffee.

Jesse accepted them. "How did you know?" The warm liquid soothed his raw throat.

"I know that you haven't been feeling well lately. You don't have to hide it. I made an appointment for you today at six."

"Beck . . . I don't think that's necessary." Just as he said this, a wave of pain smoldered through his head.

"I'm afraid it is," Becky said softly. "You've been tired and permanently pale lately. I'm also concerned about those red dots and bruises."

"My, uh, throat's kind of sore too," Jesse admitted. A thought suddenly struck him. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost fifteen hours. But don't worry about it, I know you were exhausted," she added quickly at seeing his horrified expression. "I took care of the boys and helped them study for a test they have today, so you didn't miss much." She retrieved the plate of toast again. "Why don't you eat this? It may help your headache go away."

Jesse wasn't hungry, but he decided to accept the gesture. "Thanks."

"Other than your headache, how do you feel right now?" Becky asked, gently stroking his arm.

Jesse decided that there was no longer any point in denying that something was wrong with him. "My joints really ache. I have a feeling that getting out of this bed will be a task."

"You don't have to go to work today."

"If I were in fourth grade, that would be tempting, but it's not happening. I've never missed a single day at this job."

"Except for your first. Remember you were out cold because you practically overdosed on cold pills?"

"I was still there!"

Becky laughed and glanced at her watch. "Well, I've got to go, honey. I'll see you around eleven-thirty. Would you like me to come with you to the doctor's?"

"Becky, I'm a big boy. I can go by myself."

"Just wanted to act like a committed support system. You should at least rest a little more before getting up. Bye."

She leaned forward and gave him a kiss, which he returned. She then offered him one more smile and a pat on the shoulder before standing up and leaving the room. Jesse leaned his head back against the pillow, hardly feeling rested at all.

* * *

Once the procedure was over, Jesse sauntered out of the building and to his red Mustang. He now actually wished that he had agreed to Becky coming with him. He was entirely too exhausted to drive himself home. He hadn't been as eternally relieved to be home in a long time. Before walking inside, he leaned against the doorframe and took a deep breath, rubbing his temples to eliminate the nagging fatigue.

"Hey, honey," Becky greeted him from the couch once he was finally inside.

"Hi." Jesse sat down next to her and kissed her. She kissed back. "Oh, we may not be able to do that for awhile. Weston says I might have mono."

Becky grimaced. "Really? Tell me more."

Jesse told her about the additional possibility of anemia and about the blood drawing procedure.

"Aw, you got through it, honey," she teased, patting his arm. "Did they give you a Dum-Dum?"

Jesse glared at her, genuinely not in the mood for jokes. "Very funny. I hope it doesn't take too long for those results to come in, because I'm really beginning to think something's wrong with me."

"Beginning? Then I hate to tell you, honey, but you're a little slow. We've all been able to tell for nearly a week. I can't deny that I'm worried."

Jesse lifted his head, which had been resting in his hands. "Why? Do you really think it's something serious?"

"Well . . ." Becky shrugged. "I'm a little concerned that they needed to take a blood sample. If it were something like the flu, strep, or what not, he should have been able to determine that on the spot. Well, after sticking the cotton swab down your throat."

Jesse sighed and let his head fall back on the couch. "And here I thought you were my 'support system,'" he moaned, using her own words against her.

* * *

He then stood up and resignedly ambled up the steps. Becky shook her head, hoping that whatever was wrong with her husband would be determined, and soon.

Becky lowered her shaking hand that held the phone and stared ahead in fear. She had just been given some daunting news, and it was taking a while to sink in.

Two days had passed since Jesse's doctor appointment. The results had finally come, as promised. The door suddenly swung open. Becky was unaffected by it.

"Joseph, let it go!" Jesse's voice screamed. "I don't need someone reminding me that I'm under par every waking minute of the day!"

"Jess, you fell asleep _twice_!" Joey's voice was considerably calmer.

"Okay, okay, think what you want, just please don't tell-" Jesse had turned and looked inside for the first time and noticed his wife. "Hey honey!" he greeted her with forced cheerfulness. Becky swallowed and looked up.

"What's wrong?" Joey asked her.

Becky at last found her voice. "Jess, Dr. Weston just called. He said that your blood work looks abnormal and he wants to see you in twenty minutes."

Jesse just looked at her, speechless and concerned. Becky placed the phone in its cradle and walked over to him, taking his arm. He didn't protest as she dragged him out to the car.

* * *

In the waiting room, they hardly had to wait very long for one of the nurse to call him in.

"Your white blood cell count is abnormally high, while your red blood cell count is unusually low, which means you're anemic, like I suspected," Dr. Weston stated.

"So?" Jesse said, secretly hoping that was all. "I'll just take iron pills."

"I'm not finished, Jesse. These superfluous white blood cells are abnormally shaped and don't appear to have fully matured like they should. Plus, they're crowding out most of your essential red blood cells and platelets."

"What does that mean?" Becky asked, knowing that she wouldn't like what was coming next. She rested her shaking hand on Jesse's knee.

Dr. Weston beheld the couple solemnly behind his reading glasses. "It means that Jesse has acute lymphoblastic leukemia."

* * *

**A/N:** I know that this story has been posted before, by my friend, former fanfic writer Meredith Sans. After a few email conferences, she decided to let me adopt her story, previously titled "The Long Road." For her own reasons she has given up on her fanfiction-writing career while I have begun mine. She felt bad about deleting the story since that everybody appeared to like it. Well, it's back. I have made several changes with my own plot in mind. This is practically the only chapter that is the same as the original. Please read & review. Flames are welcome. 


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